HONG KONG — Strains are emerging in China’s job market about a month into the country’s full-on tariff war with the U.S., testing Beijing’s determination not to cave to the pressure from Donald Trump’s trade policy.
Across the country, factories making everything from furniture to shoes and backpacks are halting production as 145% U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports deter American buyers. In many cases, manufacturers have furloughed workers or begun planning substantial layoffs. This is exacerbating fear among s that China’s growth rate will slow down sharply as a slackening labor market further dampens the personal spending the country desperately needs.
